4 of 5, "Get the size right and the mountains your oyster"03/02/2013 @ 12:15

Price Paid

£310

Bought From

Rental

Times Ridden

6-15 Times

Review Detail

Banana Tech - Off the bat its an amazing board, its playful when you need it due to the banana and moves under your feet really well giving a superb catch free ride. In the 10 days I got to ride it I didn't catch an edge once and that's very unlike me.

C2 Reverse Camber - wow it just made this board so stable, im used to riding a skate banana which can be a bit jittery under your feet at speed and flat lining, but this board just sticks it, I hit 50mph flat lining according to my GPS and there wasn't even a slight wobble under my feet.

Powder - I took this deck for a day of off piste and tree runs and it just handles superbly. If you know how to ride powder this board will do what ever you want it to.

Ice - as usual the magnatraction worked, i think in 3 days of riding icey black runs the heel edge only came away from me a handful of times and this was mostly due to tired legs and feet. Im a big fan of magnatraction - this particular board grips and wont let go on a carve, I've rarely felt that locked into turns.

My overall impression - I've been riding a short board for years but lately due to age and desk job i've put on a stone or two and wanted to try a board that is longer and stiffer than my usual skate banana. So I went for a 157 TRS - while this board isn't as playful as the banana it is fantastic. I struggled with the size and stiffness (maybe im not as heavy as i thought) and i think i'd be better riding the 154 model. What I can say is this board is a true all rounder but you need to know snowboarding well to get the most out of it. I'd say it would be excellent for the higher intermediates to all year round riders and not the weekend warriors who get a few weeks in a year. On a couple of occasions I went back to my banana to give my feet a rest from the stiffness of this deck. I also had a friend along who had the same deck, he is 14stone and has about 6" of height on me and he loved his. He was able to get a lot more out of it due to his weight and size being able to press it for jibs, pop it for ollies and torsion-ally flex it a lot better than me.

If you have the money and are looking to invest in a board you'll ride for 5+ weeks a year then this is the deck for you. Its won more Goodwood awards than any other board for a reason. It won't let you down as long as you know how to get the best out of it.

If your more of a begginer have a look at the skate banana as this will help you progress quicker.

Strengths

About as stable as they come flat lining due to the reverse camber.Impossible to catch an edge due to the Banana.Great in powder.Awesome all over the mountain.Hardpack/ Ice - magna traction.

Weaknesses

Stiff for jibbing.Stiff for the lighter rider.Chipping to top sheet as the deck wore in. Normal for Lib-tech.

Very hard to catch an edge with this boardHandles very well in pow left all my freinds behind and when you consider I weigh in at around 103 kgfast on the flat sections holdinng speed wellI nearly didnt buy this board as its aimed at advanced and after 5 weeks I consider myself to fall short of advanced but I glad I did joy to ride and enough flex to get a fatty like me doing olliesThe only reason I didnt give it a 5 is if I ride somthing beter i have nowhere to go